The new terminal will help increase cargo-handling capacity at Manzanillo port by 10%, transport and communications minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, said during the opening ceremony at the port.

Manzanillo port currently handles 60Mt of cargo per annum, which is more than double the 29Mt it handled in 2012. With the new 16-ha terminal, the port will be able to handle an extra 2Mt of bulk minerals and 465,000 tonnes of additional general cargo per year, the minister said in a government release.

The automated terminal required an investment of 1.2bn pesos (US$64.9mn) and the works were carried out by Mexican company Grupo Hazesa.

The development of new port infrastructure in Mexico will help operators move more than 400Mt this year, the transport and communications ministry (SCT) has said. The country's ports dealt with around 260Mt of cargo in 2012.

SCT is carrying out 25 port projects in the country, requiring total investment of around 67.3bn pesos, with approximately 80% of this amount coming from the private sector, according to the SCT.